Woods Staton is the Executive Chairman of the Board and controlling shareholder of Arcos Dorados (NYSE: ARCO), the world’s largest McDonald’s franchisee. Arcos Dorados employs more than 95,000 people across 20 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, operating more than 2200 restaurants, with revenues of more than US$3.7 billion.
Born in Medellín, Colombia, Mr Staton’s business life has always been involved with consumer goods in Latin America. His grandfather founded Panamco, which became one of the largest Coca-Cola’s bottlers in the world with operations in seven Latin American countries. After many years in the family business, Mr Staton branched out starting his own entrepreneurial career as McDonald’s joint venture partner, opening the first McDonald’s restaurant in Argentina.

He founded Arcos Dorados in 2007 when McDonald’s Corporation sold its operations in Latin America to a consortium of investors put together by Mr. Staton. The Company launched a successful IPO in 2011 on the NYSE, with Mr Staton as its Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board. As of October 1st, 2015, he handed over day to day management of the Company, to focus on strategic direction as Executive Chairman of the Board.

Mr. Staton is co-founder of Endeavor Argentina, promoting entrepreneurship, as well as a founding partner of Ashoka Argentina, a global organization committed to investing in innovative solutions through social entrepreneurship. He was recently elected as a Board Member of the IMD Foundation in Lausanne, Switzerland. His current strong interest is encouraging youth employment and skills training.

Mr. Staton holds an MBA from IMD in Switzerland and a Bachelor’s degree in economics from Emory University in Atlanta. He is on the Global Board of Advisors of the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington D.C., serves as Chair of the Advisory Board of the Latin American Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, as well as on the Chairman’s International Advisory Council of the Americas Society/Council of the Americas.